Binningen BL, 15 March 2022 – The Russian Court of Cassation has
confirmed a lower court’s verdict against two Ameropa entities, Ameropa
Holding and Ameropa AG, and two of its directors, upholding a case of
malicious prosecution that has been described by independent observers
as “Kafkaesque”, “flagrantly unfair”, and a “a classic example of Russian corporate siege and raiding practices”. Ameropa is considering appealing to the European Court of Human Rights.
 
The proceedings against Ameropa are part of an illegal corporate raid
against Togliatti Azot (“ToAz”), a Russian fertilizer company in which
Ameropa holds a minority stake.  As detailed in a report by researchers from George Mason University, Dmitry Mazepin (a Russian oligarch subject to Western sanctions) and his company Uralchem have manipulated the Russian legal system and their close relationships with Russian government officials
to achieve the unlawful takeover of ToAz, applying many of the same
methods used against Hermitage Capital/Sergei Magnitsky/Bill Browder and
Yukos/Mikhail Khodorkovsky. A core part of this campaign has been to
fabricate civil and criminal claims against Ameropa and its directors,
with the proceedings marked by gross violations of due process and human
rights.
 
According to another academic report: “[D]uring
this almost decade-long legal fight, there have been multiple
documented accounts of fabricated evidence, questionable expert reports,
bribed witnesses, anonymous testimonies, and so-called “telephone
justice” in the form of informal influence and pressure on the
judiciary.”
 
The UK Magistrate Court, in rejecting Russia’s extradition request for one of Ameropa’s co-defendants, summed up the case as follows: “a
weak case without the crucial evidential foundation… a charge which
grossly inflates the complainant’s loss, a complainant which is corrupt
yet powerful, evidence of investigators who appear to be too close to
the complainant,… a long history of attacks on the accused… evidence of a
lack of independence of the judge.”
 
Western governments,
including from Switzerland, the United States and Germany, have also
taken a dim view of the matter, rejecting various requests for Mutual
Legal Assistance from the Russian government in relation to the ToAz
case.
 
As part of their harassment of the defendants, Russian
authorities obtained Interpol Red Notices against the defendants,
including Ameropa’s directors Mr. Zivy and Mr. Ruprecht.  But, after
evaluating the facts, Interpol revoked the Red Notices stating “there is a predominant political dimension to this case” and concluding that the Russian request “[d]oes not satisfy the requirements of… Interpol’s Constitution”.
 
The verdict is not enforceable outside of Russia and Ameropa does not
expect any material adverse consequences arising from it.  However, in
its pursuit of justice, Ameropa is considering appealing to the European
Court of Human Rights.  Ameropa has also sought to initiate a claim
under the Swiss-Russian Bilateral Investment Treaty but has been blocked
by the Russian government, which has refused to engage in the
proceedings.  Ameropa’s press release on the original verdict can be
found here.
 
 
About Ameropa
Founded in 1948, Ameropa in Binningen near Basel is a privately held
Swiss trading and production company for cereals and fertilizers. For
more information please see our website www.ameropa.com.
 
Further information:
Andreas Zivy
andreas.zivy@ameropa.com
Phone +41 61 307 50 25